nhsba

Legislative Bulletin
December 21, 2009

Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays - NHSBA Hopes you find time to enjoy the Holidays with Family and Friends!

 

We also want you to know that the NHSBA Legislative Bulletin will resume a weekly schedule when the legislature returns to regular activity with the start of the 2010 Session in January.



A Brief Summary of Education Issues at the State House

_____________________________________________________________________________
State Building Aid Update
As previewed in the last Bulletin, the Committee to Study the School Building Aid Grant Program met last Tuesday and formally adopted an interim report that recommends the legislature consider a temporary suspension of the building aid program. As previously reported, the report also recommends that no such suspension should take effect prior to June 30, 2010. Senator Molly Kelly indicated she is introducing legislation this January to proceed with the Committee's recommendation.
 
A copy of the December 15, 2009 interim report is available on the NHSBA web site at www.nhsba.org/documents/pdfs/IntReportBuildAidStudy.pdf

________________________________________________________________
Accountability for an Adequate Education
The Task Force charged with developing a performance-based school accountability system met last Friday and is scheduled to meet again January 29. The Task Force reviewed its charge to advise on a performance-based accountability system that is to be in place beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, serving as one method a school may use to demonstrate, by the end of the school year, that it is providing the opportunity for an adequate education. The Task Force also reviewed the requirement for schools to demonstrate they are providing the opportunity for an Adequate Education by an alternative "input method" detailing how each school has complied with each of the standards included in the opportunity for an adequate education (see RSA 193-E:2-a). This "input method" requirement is due by the end of the current school year, June 30, 2010. The Task Force must file an interim report by April 1, 2010 and a final report by November 1, 2010.
 
The Task Force viewed a demonstration of the "input system" that is being developed for implementation this school year. The "input system" is one way a school may demonstrate that it provides the opportunity for an adequate education. The Department of Education has developed "input data collection software" to facilitate the process that districts are required to complete by the end of this school year. The software prompts the user for information on how a school has complied with each of the standards included in the opportunity for an adequate education. The prompts are based on the rules in ED 306 that correspond to the adequacy requirements in RSA 193-E:2-a. The data collection software facilitating this "input system" process will be piloted in January. When the Task Force meets again, it will review the input system process and continue its discussions on defining a performance-based accountability system.
_________________________________________________________________
Retirement and "Spiking"
The committee studying the imposition of assessments to retirement system employers for excess benefits paid to retirees (spiking) continues to review information and data from both NHRS and the actuaries at Gabriel Roeder Smith & Co. To date, options have been reviewed and the committee is looking at whether or not to allow or limit spiking, and if allowed, whether to share in the corresponding costs or not. The committee is currently considering a possible survey of municipalities and school districts to help determine the extent of such retirement 'payouts' and if they represent a legitimate problem. However, specific language corresponding to practices in school districts and municipalities still needs to be resolved. The committee is likely to meet again in January.
_________________________________________________________________
NHSBA Delegate Assembly - Saturday, January 16, 2010
Be sure to mark your calendar now for the 2010 NHSBA Delegate Assembly on Saturday, January 16th, at the Local Government Center in Concord, NH. Click here to register!
____________________________________________________________________________
For the complete text of any bill, go to the general court web site and enter the bill number, e.g. HB223, SB180 or CACR5 (no spaces!), and make sure the Session Year is 2009. Bills for 2010 (legislative proposals) will be available after December 10, 2009.

For more information on specific legislation, please call Dean Michener, NHSBA Director of Governmental Affairs at 603-228-2061, or email: [email protected].

 

Dean Michener
NHSBA Director of Governmental Affairs